Introduction: A tethered UAV can keep one camera over the same site for a full shift, and the ground station’s power, weight, and footprint decide where that monitored point can be.
A safety supervisor planning site coverage often starts with a familiar routine: launch, fly for half an hour, land, swap batteries, launch again. That works for a short inspection. It breaks down when the job is watching a factory park, an energy facility, or a large construction site from morning to night. The real question is not which drone flies best, but where to place the power supply and what it can keep in the air for eight hours straight. The deployment decision comes down to how the ground station, site power, and payload choices fit together.
Why Fixed Industrial Sites Need Persistent Aerial Monitoring
A battery-powered patrol drone is built around a short flight window. Every cycle includes landing, swapping batteries, restarting, and returning to the same position. On a ten-hour shift, those cycles add up, and each one creates a gap in the record. If an incident occurs during a gap—a load swinging over a walkway, a truck entering a closed lane, a small fire near a laydown yard—there may be no footage of the moment it began. Continuous ground power removes that cycle. Instead of planning the day around flight windows, you can plan around one monitored zone that stays covered from shift start to shift end. Large construction sites, factory parks, and energy facilities suit this approach because their risk areas stay put: perimeter fences, storage yards, crane operations, hot work areas, loading gates, and night-shift traffic routes. Industrial drone operations still follow national aviation rules—EASA publishes the European framework for commercial UAS work—so the flight plan must fit your local operating rules. The coverage plan, however, becomes a matter of hours rather than battery cycles.
How Ground Station Power and Placement Shape Site Coverage
The ground station decides where the aircraft can operate. It measures 620 × 400 × 600 mm and weighs 52 kg. Move it with a trolley, utility cart, or pickup bed, and set it on firm, level ground. Start with the station: find a level, dry position where the cable route stays clear of vehicles and foot traffic. The camera position follows from that.
1. Placement Decisions Start With AC220V Power Access and a 52kg Transport Route
The station runs on AC 220V ±10% at 50 Hz and draws under 3000 W at the input. It converts that to a DC 375V / 400V ±5V output that travels up the tether to a 3000 W onboard supply. In site terms, that is roughly the demand of a heavy power tool or a small welding set, which can often be served from existing distribution. Two practical points matter more than the number itself. First, the circuit has to stay live for the whole monitoring period, including through shift changes. Second, the transport route to the pad has to handle both the 52 kg station and the people setting it up. Review site power and ground station space with Tinko before fixing a position.
2. Hover Accuracy and Cable Length Define the Shape of the Monitored Zone
The aircraft works at up to 100 m of height on a 120 m cable, holds position within ±1 m, keeps heading within ±3°, and runs continuously for at least 8 hours on ground power. Those numbers define a monitored zone rather than a patrol route. A 120 m cable with a 100 m working height leaves margin for the aircraft to move and for the cable to hang without pulling tight. The ±1 m hover accuracy makes the view repeatable: the same gate, yard corner, and fence line sit in the same frame at noon and at midnight, which makes recorded footage easier to review after an incident.
Matching Payload and Data Links to Long-Duration Site Monitoring
Payload is where fixed-site monitoring plans usually get trimmed. The effective payload is 2.5 kg, and that weight has to cover the gimbal, camera, and any other equipment mounted underneath. That is enough for a stabilized dual-light camera with visible and thermal channels, or for a compact loudspeaker, work light, or small communications module. Choose one primary payload for a given monitoring task. It is a fixed allowance, so decide what the site actually needs before adding accessories. A thermal channel is often the most useful addition on an energy or industrial site because it turns a daytime camera into a night-shift tool. The data side depends on how much video you want to move. The tether is available with an integrated single-mode fiber option rated at 10 Gb/s, which carries high-bandwidth video and telemetry without competing for radio spectrum. On sites with heavy RF traffic from cranes, radios, and plant equipment, a fiber path is the cleaner choice, and it gives the ground control link a fixed physical route. If the monitoring feed will touch the site’s control network, handle it with the same discipline as any other industrial control system; NIST SP 800-82 is the standard starting reference for that kind of security planning. IEEE 1937.1 covers payload interface standardization, which matters when payloads change between projects.
Conclusion
For a factory park, an energy facility, or a large construction site, the deployment matters as much as the aircraft. Where can a 52 kg station sit? Where is the nearest AC 220V feed? How many hours of coverage does the site need? Which 2.5 kg payload answers the safety team’s actual question? Answer those four questions, and a tethered UAV becomes a practical monitoring post rather than just another piece of equipment. When you compare drone manufacturers for a fixed-site project, deployment questions matter more than the aircraft spec sheet. If you are weighing this for your site, send Tinko the site layout, nearest power point, monitoring hours, and intended payload. The team can review ground station placement, cable routing, and configuration for the LZZ-THOR-100 tether system, then return a deployment suggestion and quote. A site plan makes that conversation faster than a specification list.
FAQ
Q：Can a tethered surveillance drone stay airborne for a full work shift at an industrial site?
A：Yes. The LZZ-THOR-100 draws power from the ground station instead of onboard batteries, and its continuous working time is at least 8 hours, which covers a standard shift. The tether carries DC 375V / 400V ±5V to a 3000 W onboard supply, and a 5200 mAh 35C backup battery provides emergency support if the ground feed is interrupted. For coverage beyond a standard shift, plan the monitoring in two periods, because the aircraft still needs to land for inspection and the station needs a power check.
Q：What site power and ground station space are needed for a 100m tethered UAV deployment?
A：The station needs an AC 220V ±10% at 50 Hz feed drawing under 3000 W. This load can often be served from existing distribution if the circuit can stay live for the full monitoring period. The station occupies 620 × 400 × 600 mm and weighs 52 kg, so allow a firm, level pad with a transport route wide enough for a cart or pickup, plus clearance to run the tether clear of vehicles and walkways. Confirm the exact power point and pad position with your tethered drone manufacturer before ordering, because both depend on your site layout.
Q：How does payload weight affect long-duration construction site monitoring?
A：The effective payload is 2.5 kg, and every item shares that allowance. A stabilized dual-light gimbal, a loudspeaker, a work light, or a small communications module are realistic single choices; fitting all of them at once is not. Weight also affects how much margin the aircraft has while holding position on the tether, so a lighter, focused payload usually gives steadier long-duration monitoring than a heavy mixed load. Decide the primary monitoring task first, then match the payload to it.
Sources / References
SP 800-82 Rev. 2, Guide to Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Security
IEEE 1937.1 - IEEE Standards Association
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